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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The $10 coffee table

I know. I know. I said I would catch you up on the stairs tonight. I know. Winces. I’m kind of at the mercy of others when it comes to this one, which I hate. I am not used to people helping out with my DIY projects, and while it is wonderful to have the help – it also means I have to be more patient than usual, which I am so not good at. ;)

Anyhoo, I should be able to show you a close to finished product next week. (Crossing fingers.)

So I figured I would finally share my coffee table project for the family room. I showed you back on the rug post how large our old table was. I absolutely LOVE this table – I got this and a matching end table from Bombay Company years ago. (Can I get a moment of silence for BC? That place rocked.)

It served us well – we could eat off of it, drag choo choos across it, do puzzles easily. It was just so. incredibly. huge. It measures three feet across. HUGE:

Our family room is actually quite large, but as I’ve mentioned, the changes we made to it when building created very little wall space, so the furniture all floats. I love the layout and suggest it all the time – making and “L” with your sofas/chairs in a long room creates a cozy and warm space.

But cozy and a three foot wide coffee table don’t mix. So I was on the lookout for something new, and a few weeks ago I came across this beaut at Goodwill:

Wow, isn’t it fantastic? :) I know, it’s not. It wasn’t. But it was only $9.99. And as soon as I saw it, I knew it could work for what I had in mind. It was labeled as a desk, and was actually quite tall. (You can see how much taller it was than the sofa above.)

Because I heard on HGTV once that your coffee table should be about two inches lower than your sofa, and since HGTV is decorating gospel, (OK, only most of the time) I took this baby out to my fanfreakingtastic compound miter saw and cut down these legs:

Oh yeah, I did! I stuck that baby right under the blade and cut them off! Buwahahaha!! I think I took about four inches off each leg. (Then I added little cushions to the bottom of each one to protect the rug.)

Because the top was beyond fixing with paint, I knew this table would work perfectly for my plan. It’s actually a laminate veneer on top and the sides, but I didn’t mind the color of it at all. I considered painting it, but painting laminate is not a quick job, and I wanted to keep the contrast of the table against the rug. So how the heck was I going to make it work?

I was going to upholster this bad boy:

I turned it over onto the foam and just traced it. (Foam courtesy of Goodwill, a find a few months ago. It’s also served as coloring book for my son as you can see.)

I wanted to tuft the top of the table with buttons and wanted to make sure everything was symmetrical. I realized I could just use the middle point of every square and then one in the middle for five buttons. I just drilled into those points:

Then I upholstered the top with batting (Goodwill again, score!!) and fabric using my staple gun:

At this point I lost steam a bit and let it sit for a good week. Something just wasn’t sitting right with me.

There are three things that are extremely important to me when I decorate our house. The first is the project or item must be comfortable. Second, it has to be something our son can play with/around/on and third, it must be something that I will not FREAK OUT about when our son is playing with/around/on said item.

And this only had one of the three – it sure was comfortable when we propped our feet on it! ;) But as I watched my son playing on it, I realized why I was hesitating to finish it. The choo choos didn’t roll quite as well on this one. There was no way you could set a drink on it. And if you did, I would be over in the corner, biting my nails, breaking out in hives.

Beyond all that, covering the raw edges underneath was going to take more work, and I wasn’t positive how I was even going to do that.

Sooooo…I took it all apart. It took longer to take apart than it did to put it together. Gah.

I had a new brilliant idea – I would use some beadboard I already had and just cover the top. But I wanted a different look than just planks of the beadboard laying across it. Beadboard can get a country feel real quick if you’re not careful how you use it – and as much as I look a country/farmhouse look, it’s just not our family room. :)

So I figured it out – I used miter cuts on the beadboard and started from the outside and worked in, creating a square design:

I was in luuuurve.

To finish off the edges, I added some “fencing” molding – only $2 for an eight foot piece. After living with it for a day or two and getting stabbed by the corners, I quickly realized I would need to sand those down:

It worked perfectly!

I filled in all of the nail holes (I used the nail gun to attach it to the top of the table) and any gaps with spackle:

Sanded it down and primed, then painted:

I got a creamy paint to use on it, but after the first coat I realized it would be too light. So I used the wall color from the family room, mixed a little in to make it a bit deeper, and I couldn’t be more pleased!

I put the drawer towards the sofa so we have easy access to the fifty billion remotes and my bloggy necessities. ;)

Oh yeah, and another spot for me to frantically throw toys when I can’t take stepping on one more itty bitty thing.

We had a large basket on the top of our old coffee table for the remotes, and it fits perfectly under the table. I wanted to be able to slide it easily on the rug without it snagging, so I hot glued some of my mini-moving men to the bottom:

I never used the little ones anyway and it did the trick! This baby flies! And yet another spot for itty. bitty. teeny. tiny. toys. They breed.

The whole coffee table ended up costing $30 -- $10 for the table, $10 for additional beadboard and $10 for the paint. In the end, $30 is still way, way, WAY less than I would ever spend at a furniture store. AND I absolutely love it!:

Before, with the old table, old rug, same cat:

After…ahhhh….

Now, just a few more (potential) changes to this room and I am done! (Still can’t decide if I can part with my beloved drapes, even though I think they may be too much now.) I’ll show you the mantel next week!

wow - just found your blog. Love your philosophy about decor with children - it is a must. Jealous that you have a saw - I'm not sure I'll ever be creative enough to justify that purchase. But you have great talent. Look forward to blogstalking you some more!

That looks great! Isn't it funny how it takes longer to take something apart than it was to put together in the first place? Your son will have fun on this table, the beadboard makes for a great road for cars or trains.

That is awesome! Love that you cut down the legs. My coffee table is an old drop leaf dining room table with the legs cut down. When we need to spread out to do a puzzle, or serve food during a party, or whatever, we can lift up the sides and voila! massive coffee table at your service!

You are amazing! That table is amazing! Your whole house is amazing! :)

I am in awe of your talent and power tool skills. I love the way everything is coming together in your "new" room. Also, if you decide not to keep those curtains, send them to me!! I was just drooling over them :)

I discovered your blog a few weeks ago and I have to say I'm impressed by your motivation. The coffee table, while not my taste (I probably would have painted it a darker color), is impressive. When you said you were going to upholster the table I knew that wasn't going to work. Fabric + drinks = disaster. Anyway, great job on the table. Maybe I'll paint mine...(after the kids move out - HA!).

Rather impressed I is...Good job snagging the bargain at Goodwill. My GW have been really jacking their prices up lately...no doubt due to a increased demand for the repurposeable (how's that for a new one?) items b/c of the blogosphere!!!! Keep up the awesome work.

Great!!!! you know what...the drapes work as long as the little accent pillows on the couch are there....they "accent" the drapes! Take the pillows away and drapes are too much. I say keep 'em in the name of "thrifty"......why change it if it's not broke?sacksaw@aol.com

Not sure if anyone has commented on this but I just heard that Bombay Company is coming back! The stores aren't reopening but the company is creating a Bombay Company line that will be sold by other retailers. I was thrilled! Visit www.bombaycompany.com to sign up for updates.

Hm. I like the beadboard. Really. But I'd be tempted to rub a bit of stain over it, and it'd get down into those crevices and age it a wee bit. Cause you *know* it is going to attract everything...(I have five children 10 and under..we homeschool...I know about itty bitty toys, and cracks and crevices with stuff stuck in them, lol :-) ).

I'll admit, either the stain rubbed in for "aging", or either a glass top would be coming, at my house. Even if I did have to swipe fingers off every other second. LOL. Maybe both, actually.

I agree with the previous poster that if you get rid of the pillows, you'll have issues with the drapes, but frankly, I'd keep them both for the time being--see how it all shakes out over a week or two. If you do decide to revamp the windows, I'd opt for some sort of mistreatment a la the Nester. It seems as if while you are adding more traditional elements, you are also scaling back the formality a bit. Which works (especially in a house with one or more small children)!

Are you staining or painting the stairs (I think I'd have opted for a dark paint job on the steps, cream on the risers, myself)? I look forward to seeing what you do with them!

The coffeetable looks great. Wow, I didn't know that they should be 2" lower than the sofa/couch. I will have to go shopping now since ours is actually higher than the seating in the room since it also houses storage ottomans underneath.

Oh my. I recently discovered your dear blog and my only complaint is, please could you post more often and then come to my house and decorate and organize everything?? Pretty please?! I guess that's really a question and not so much a complaint. But I mean it!! Really! Okay, now seriously, I've been wanting to do this for a LOOOOOOONG time, but your blog finally gave me the push I was needing. I have started to go through every inch of my place, every.single.item. and declutter and organize and decorate. I want my home to be peaceful. And you're right! I have way too much junk!! So I'm doing it!! So thank you a million times for your beautiful inspiration!! You're super awesome!!

Please tell me how you get all these amazing projects done with a kiddo? I have lists and lists of projects like this and NO time when my overly zealous helpers aren't trying to destroy my projects before my eyes...i then give up and sit and watch them play and DREAM about all the potential my house has...where is the time????

I love it! I'm hoping to build a box-style coffee table this summer- I need something to hide all the toys too! I hope I can find some kind of hinges to use for the top of the table so the kiddo can open it with out it crashing down. Any ideas?

I love the look of the new room. Your room had a darker feel, but really good look. I Love, Love, Love, this new one. And cute idea for the table. Fabulous room and I agree, little toys do tend to BREED!!!

I love this transition! You have inspired me to find neglected, abandend furniture and refinish them! I just moved to a new area and I just searched online and found where my restores and thrift stores are in my area. Thank you! Can't wait to start on something... thinking small entry way table, sofa table, and something to be converted into a bathroom vanity for our powder room. YIKES where do I start?! Oh right... shopping!

My first decorating attempt is our entry way, above our front door... if you (or anyone) would be interested in helping a girl out with some ideas, I've posted pictures to my blog http://newshadeofgreen.blogspot.com.

I. LOVE. THIS. It is my absolute favortie thing I've seen so far on your blog, and I love a LOT of things on your blog. It's definitely my favorite coffee table I've ever seen. I've been reading your blog for a couple months now but haven't left a comment yet, and this is so inspired I couldn't resist! (plus I'm going to leave one in the Vintage Pearl giveaway, so might as well here too;) You are so TALENTED. I can't believe you can just come up with this stuff! This table is so beautiful and just my style. I love beadboard. Someday I'm going to do this same thing! Thank you for being so giving and generous with your talent and knowledge.

So, got any tips on redoing a crappity old laminate piece, besides upholstering and beadboard? I have a table I'm dying to make over, but it has a really chunky top (so I'd have to do the sides of it, too)...

Hello from Texas!! A friend of mine has a link to your spot on her spot & I find you fabulous! Love the re-do on the goodwill find. Love the concept of buying cheap then upgrading. However, not all of us are amazingly handy or have whatchamacallit saws :) Wish I was, but for now I will just enjoy watching for transform things.

If you feel your drapes don't fit the space anymore but still love them, you could re-purpose them elsewhere as shower curtains(you've had them long enough not to freak if they get wet/ruined). or you could cut apart and use teh fabric as a table runner, shorten and use the green border as a valance, accent pillows, or a table or bed skirt? --BG

I love your kitchen and am actually doing my back splash in bead board :)I will post pics as soon as I'm done. Thanks for the very helpful blog! I would have been lost with out it! By the way....love your kitchen, it looks wonderful, and I too know what hard work it is! lol

I do have a question....I painted my bead board the color I wanted then covered it with polyurethane I had in the ol' storage room. Little did I know it is the glossiest thing I have ever seen!!!! I am so mad! I have all the pieces cut to fit my kitchen and three big pieces are so glossy you can see your reflection:( It totally takes away from my distressed cabinets! Any suggestions??

I just discovered your blog and I am in LOVE!! I really need you to come decorate my house...;) Love love your DIY ideas, I am going to try some of them (wreath, beadboard) this fall. Thank you for being so wonderfully inspirational!!